Holy fuck balls! We know Slayer's Jeff Hanneman went through some serious shit when a spider bit him last year and he had to battle through the Slayer song-title sounding Necrotizing Fasciitis. Seems it was far worse than the band let on.

From Slayer.net:

Slayer fans everywhere - it's time to let you know what is going on with our brother Jeff Hanneman.

As you know, Jeff was bitten by a spider more than a year ago, but what you may not have known was that for a couple of days after he went to the ER, things were touch-and-go. There was talk that he might have to have his arm amputated, and we didn't know if he was going to pull through at all. He was in a medically-induced coma for a few days and had several operations to remove the dead and dying tissue from his arm. So, understand, he was in really, really bad shape. It's been about a year since he got out of the hospital, and since then, he had to learn to walk again, he's had several painful skin grafts, he's been in rehab doing exercises to regain the strength in his arm; but best of all, he's been playing guitar. We were all excited when he joined us onstage for the encore a year ago at The Big Four show at Coachella. Since then, we've given him all the time and support he's needed to continue his rehab so he can come back to the band fully recovered and able to deliver the kind of shows we all want him to. While Jeff's been doing some writing and has been coming to rehearsal over the past several weeks, he has decided he needs to take more time to continue his rehab. While we want him back onstage with the band, all of us support his decision. So, we're very grateful that Gary Holt will continue to fill in for Jeff, and will tour with us until Jeff completes his rehab and is ready to return. How long will that be? The best and most honest answer we can give you is 'as long as it takes.' We also wanted you to know that we've been doing some writing and recording for the next Slayer album - we've tracked a few songs, and will finish the album when we're off the road later this year. Gary will join us on tour in Europe and the UK in May and June, and then we'll all see you on this Summer's Mayhem Festival.

Thanks to Gary "Exodus" Holt for filling in, and best of luck to Jeff with his continued recovery. Take your time and get strong.

He was probably bitten by a brown recluse spider which has the effect of injecting venom which reacts necroticly to people who are allergic to it. He is either incredibly allergic to it or the thing went ape shit on his arm. With him getting knocked into a coma and having to relearn to walk I wonder if the venom somehow got deeper into his bloodstream and entered his brain, giving him a stroke. I wish him the best of luck.

Funny thing is that the doctor that took care of him just after the spider bite (and thus prevented his arm from being amputated), was a Slayer fan. That guy should be regarded as a hero for Slayerheads.

Another thing that would be a factor in why they were looking to take his arm will be how long after the spider bit him 'til he went in to the hospital to find out why his arm was so fucked up. The longer you wait to go to the hospital after a Brown Recluse bite the more damage the hemotoxin will cause. Most Brown Recluse bites don't have very drastic effects, so if he was affected this badly then I would assume he probably didn't go into the hospital for days after the bite.

Written by Mr. Doctor on 01.05.2012 at 23:50Some people don't like them due to phobia or having extremely bad experiences. It's perfectly understandable.

This for example... was fucking extreme. Poor guy. Best of luck to the dude.

Exactly. It's not that I "don't like" spiders, it's that they scare me and freak me out... and hearing stories like this hardly helps matters when you're already scared of them! Dunno about comparing them with owls either... Owls are lovely, and they don't leave you with potentially life threatening conditions either. lol

As for Jeff, it seems like he really was in worse shape than the band were initially willing to let on. Hope he gets well soon and returns with a great new Slayer album, and the following tour.

This is bad.. this is really really bad... Really hope Jeff will get back in shape soon... Damn spiders....
Dude this news is totally freaking me out, can't believe Jeff had to suffer through this flesh eating disease, its like living hell..